Performance evaluation of borohydride electrooxidation reaction with ternary alloy Au-Ni-Cu/C catalysts

摘要

Carbon-supported Au-Ni-Cu, Au-Ni, Au-Cu and Au nanoparticles were synthesised using a polyol reduction method. The prepared nanoparticle catalysts were used as anode electrocatalysts in direct borohydride-hydrogen peroxide fuel cells. The physical properties of the as-prepared electrocatalysts were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD and TEM analyses showed that the average size of the particles was approximately 10-20 nm. Cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were employed to analyse the borohydride oxidation reaction (BOR) on Au/C, Au-Cu/C, Au-Ni/C and Au-Ni-Cu/C. The results showed that the catalytic activity for BOR decreased in the order Au-2-Ni-1-Cu-1/C Au-1.5-Ni-1-Cu-1/C Au-1-Ni-1/C Au-1-Cu-1/C Au/C. Single-cell direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) tests also attested that the Au-2-Ni-1-Cu-1/C anode catalyst exhibited better performance than the Au-Cu/C, Au-Ni/C and Au/C anode catalysts. Therefore, the ternary Au-2-Ni-1-Cu-1/C catalyst can be a potential anode catalyst for DBFCs.